On November 23rd Western Wayne High School Students in grade 9 experienced the THINK! ENERGY Innovation Program. This program is an interactive, hands-on presentation with a take home energy efficiency kit for each participating student and teacher. The program teaches the importance of energy, natural resources and environmental resources, and gives each participating student’s family energy-efficient technologies to install at home. Students and Staff in the high school received innovation kits on November 22nd. The kits included pipe insulation, weather stripping, outlet gaskets, a furnace filter whistle, a water conserving shower head as well an advanced smart energy power strip. 214 innovation kits were distributed overall. This comes to 4,632 new LED bulbs distributed to the Western Wayne School District since the program’s launch in 2015. This program will also result in a number of mini grants for the teachers in the high school as well. The Think Energy Innovation Program has been brought to the schools by the National Energy Foundation, PPL Electric Utilities and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. For more information or questions, please contact National Energy Foundation at 1-855-494-2942 or email stephanie.dorman@nef1.org From left: Gene Shultz of PPL and Dr. Nebzydoski, Western Wayne science teacher
Western Wayne students Joanna Regalbuto, senior, and Amanda David, junior, attended PMEA District 9 Chorus on Thursday, Feb. 10, and Friday, Feb. 11, at Pittston Area High School for two full days of rehearsing and performing in an honor ensemble. Both Western Wayne students placed in their auditions and will represent Western Wayne at Region IV Chorus.
Calling all students grades 9-12. We are looking for athletes and partners to join our team. Our club promotes a fun, competitive, and inclusive environment for students withand without disabilities. Interested students, please sign the sign up sheet located in the high school office or contact Coach Cardamone by 2/28/2022. For more information contact Coach Cardamone. Contact information is listed below.
(L to R) Mallory McCarthy, Aubrey Nixon, Sean Galliford, Daniel Hall, and Dr. Mark Nebzydoski.
Dr. Mark Nebzydoski’s and Mrs. Maria Phillip’s classes participated in the rEV electrifying educational experience program this fall. Four students were chosen by the National Energy Foundation (NEF) to receive a pair of Beats Wireless headphones for their online share form submission evaluating the program. The winners included Mallory McCarthy, Aubrey Nixon, Sean Galliford, and Daniel Hall. rEV is an electrifying educational experience driving electric vehicle (EV) adoption through an interactive presentation for students. Awareness of the benefits of EVs remains a significant barrier to mass-market adoption and rEV’s curriculum aims to dispel common misconceptions and promote future EV advocacy. The program is designed to educate students on the benefits of EVs through a STEM-based multimedia curriculum. After the experience, students and parents alike will understand the economic, environmental, and societal benefits of buying an EV. Students will have the opportunity to participate in the national level rEV Challenge, creating a video to compel their friends and family to learn more about the benefits and technology of EVs. The school-to-home approach will bring this knowledge and awareness into students’ households to accelerate market transformation. EVs are an integral part of the future of energy and the ongoing transformation of the smart grid with high school students as the next generation of vehicle owners. After a successful spring launch, NEF expanded the program further to reach 49 states, 500 schools and 44,000 students in the fall of 2021. The fall expansion also included the rEV Interactive Experience being presented in classrooms by our Energy Educators. Returning to the classroom has allowed us to further connect with students and see their excitement to take an active role in shaping their energy future. NEF is putting middle and high school students in the driver’s seat by dispelling the myths surrounding EVs and giving students the opportunity to look into the future of transportation. With engaging program materials and a school-to-home connection, rEV is already making its mark in schools across the nation. We’re excited to continue cultivating an energy literate society through EV education. Want to join our mission? Contact Chris Reilly at chris@nef1.org or 847-514-7626 to learn more!
The Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) students approved and proposed to the Board of the Wayne County Community Foundation (WCCF) a mini grant application for the purchase of a chiller for Dr. Mark Nebzydoski’s Pennsylvania Trout in the Classroom (PATIC) program. The chiller is a necessary component for raising trout in the classroom as it maintains the proper temperature for egg hatching and fry development of trout. Dr. Nebzydoski’s science classes are engaged in the PA Fish Commission’s Trout in Classroom Program and had gathered most of the components necessary to raise trout from eggs for release in the spring but needed a chiller. This mini grant fulfils that final component. The Wayne County Community Foundation is a nonprofit foundation whose primary goal is to build a charitable reserve of funds for the current and future needs of Wayne County. The Foundation uses grant resources to support a wide variety of community organizations, empowering them where possible to thrive, grow, and become self-sustaining. The Wayne County Community Foundation, 214 Ninth Street, Honesdale, PA 18431, Phone: 570-251-9993, Email: info@waynefoundation.org https://www.waynefoundation.org/
Row 1: Stevie Wilkinson, Gabby Tetreault, Ava Compton, Kayla Stokesberry, Marshall Davis, Hunter Schmitt, and Morgan Coccodrilli. Row 2: Skylar Long, Ella Pavlovich, Rachel Hoch, Lou Azzato, Jamie Chapman, Alex Chapman, Gavin Murphy, and Adrian Agnello.
The 2021-2022 Region 22 FBLA Virtual Regional Conference was held in January. Western Wayne FBLA had 58 members place in the top 5 at the conference. Of those 58 members 51 are eligible to compete at the State Leadership Conference in Hershey in April. Jared Goldman was also elected as Region 22 Secretary for the 2022-2023 school year.
2021-2022 FBLA Regional Conference Results
Name
Place
Event
Skylar Long*
Second Place
Accounting I
Laynee Nugent
Fifth Place
Accounting I
Emilie McAllister*
Second Place
Advertising
Kylie Merring*
Third Place
Business Calculations
Eleanor Black*
Fourth Place
Business Communication
Catherine Cavage
Fifth Place
Business Communication
Alexandra Butler*Sarah Collins*Morgan Heenan*
First Place
Business Management
Ella Dougher*Audrey Lawlor*Lucas Putman*
Third Place
Business Management
Bernard Roedel*
First Place
Computer Applications
Joseph Skirpan
Fifth Place
Computer Problem Solving
Rachel Tuman*
First Place
Entrepreneurship
Ava Compton*Kayla Stokesberry*
Second Place
Entrepreneurship
Hunter Schmitt*Katherine Shepherd*
Fourth Place
Entrepreneurship
Gabby Tetreault*
First Place
Future Business Leader
Xenia Vivona*
First Place
Help Desk
Mackenzie Adams*
Third Place
Hospitality & Event Management
Jayden Kellachow*
Fourth Place
Introduction to Business Communication
Adrian Agnello*Weston Nugent*
First Place
Introduction to Business Presentation
Raegan Palmer*Colette Schmitt*
Second Place
Introduction to Business Presentation
Addison Griffin*Allyson Irvine*Grace Lidy*
Fourth Place
Introduction to Event Planning
Allie Pauler*
First Place
Introduction to FBLA
Jamie Chapman*
Second Place
Introduction to FBLA
Hunter Smith*
Third Place
Introduction to FBLA
Rhayni Carroll*
First Place
Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure
Taylor Maiocco*
Second Place
Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure
Emily Romanowski*
Third Place
Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure
Zoe Albitz*
First Place
Introduction to Public Speaking
Ethan Lamberton*
Second Place
Introduction to Public Speaking
Connor Bryant*Anthony Donnini*David Elias*
First Place
Introduction to Social Media Strategy
Jared Goldman*Mason Rush*
Second Place
Introduction to Social Media Strategy
Rylee Sheehan*
Third Place
Marketing
Brandon Cleveland
Fifth Place
Marketing
Ashton Fitzsimmons*
Fourth Place
Organizational Leadership
Alex Chapman*Allison McCarthy*Rachel Hoch*Jenna Kwiatkowski*Kaeli Romanowski*
First Place
Parliamentary Procedure
Adelaide Treibley*
First Place
Public Speaking
Morgan Coccodrilli*Gavin Murphy*
Second Place
Sales Presentation
Lillian Maros
Third Place
Sales Presentation
Lucius RichnerAlex Enslin
Fifth Place
Sports & Entertainment Management
Marshall Davis*
First Place
Word Processing
Jared Goldman
2022-2023 Region 22 Secretary
*Eligible to compete at the State Leadership Conference in Hershey.
This is the board game students created to facilitate their discussion of independent reading books in Mrs. Petty’s ELA classes.Students in Mrs. McLaughlin’s ELA class dressed up as figures from the biographies they read for the second quarter for a book project, from left: Antonio Fisichella, Adrianne Waller, Sydney Sosa, Madison Trapanese, Ethan Gillott, Hailey Wasman, and Vinny Baldini.Students in Mrs. Petty’s ELA class play a reading board game, in this photo Mackenzie Warnock looks on and takes notes on her classmates’ reading.Students select books donated from the The Wayne County Community Foundation through a project called Building Home Libraries at their lunch, from left: Kayelin Martin, Hailey Wasman, Phoebe Schmitt, and Madelyn Vinton.
Book clubs, book presentations in character, book board games, and book tastings are just some of the classroom projects that Western Wayne Middle School students have been participating in through their English Language Arts classes this year.
ELA teacher Starlah Robbins treated her students to a “book tasting” earlier this year where students sampled a variety of different books in her class. She set up her room like a book café and served as the reading chef. In addition, Robbins explained other projects she does with her students.
“ I allow class time for independent reading and then do both journaling and book talks,” Robbins explained. “They discuss conflict, characters, themes, etc. in their books, without giving away any spoilers. From these talks students make “read next” lists for books that catch their interest. Aside from book talks, students have done book reviews, which is another way for students to see what other good books are out there that they can read.”
Similarly fellow ELA teachers Dawn Krautter and Jessica Fullwood host book talks within their classrooms and say their students truly enjoy being able to read books of their choice and then share their reading experiences with classmates. This practice helps promote students learning about and choosing a variety of books to read throughout the school year.
Sixth grade ELA teacher Kathleen Petty had her students create and play a book talk board game.
“After reading independently selected sixth grade-appropriate books, the students shared information about their selections as they played the board game,” Petty explained. “Simultaneously, the other players would record details of the book on their score sheets. The kids were really comfortable discussing and sharing details about their books in a small group setting. This was a fun way to spark student interest in new books. Throughout the game several students exclaimed, ‘I’ve got to read your book!’ It was a great way to break up the regular classroom routine!”
Eighth grade ELA teacher Jessica McLaughlin has her students choose their independent reading books in a variety of categories throughout the school year to help them diversify their reading patterns. For the second quarter, students read a biography or autobiography of their choosing. As their final book project, they discussed the biography figures they wrote about with their classmates. Some students dressed in character for the activity. The students said their favorite part about the project was learning about different people throughout history that they didn’t know existed.
Another way that students are being able to expand their knowledge on a variety of topics through reading comes from an opportunity provided to them by The Wayne County Community Foundation through a project called Building Home Libraries. The Foundation has donated books to Western Wayne Middle and Elementary schools to help students to build their own home libraries. All students received books the week of February 7 to take home and enjoy.
Eighth grader Hailey Wasman was excited to get a new book.
“I have been reading a really great series lately, but I am always ready to try out a new story,” Hailey said.
In addition, this coming spring Western Wayne Middle and High School students will participate in NEIU 19’s Virtual Reading Relays where they will get to discuss books in a competitive and friendly way with students throughout the local area. Western Wayne students are thrilled to have so many different and unique ways to involve reading in their education.
Curriculum Night will be held Wednesday, February 16th from 6:00 to 7:00. Administration, Guidance and the Department Heads will go over the curriculum, graduation requirements and the scheduling process.
“The silent cries of a blank page/ Waiting for words for an age” writes Western Wayne freshman Lillian Maros in her poem “Rushing Words” which won an Honorable Mention award from Scholastic Art & Writing Awards from The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. Lillian entered the contest after having heard about it in one of her classes last year. She is thrilled to have been recognized for her poetry. She has been writing fiction for a number of years now and truly enjoys crafting stories. She explained the meaning of her poem, “It is about writing a book during COVID times and the pressure of all of that. The poem summarizes my life in general.” Although Lillian enjoys writing full length stories best, she explained how writing poetry is a fun new challenge for her. “Poetry is interesting because of all of the rhymes,” she explained. “It is a challenge to come up with many specific words. You have to have a large vocabulary. When I write fiction, I concentrate more on what I would want to read in a book and then try to put that in my stories.”
The full length poem is below:
“Rushing Words” Blocked by the pain of a lightning-struck tree Beaten and battered by winds from the sea Screaming thoughts of inspiration whizzing by at blazing speeds Small ideas and breakthroughs alike peaking through the weeds The silent cries of a blank page Waiting for words for an age Water slamming against the rocks at the Point The still, quiet sigh of the glistening pond The whisper of the Lord’s sweet voice in my ears The mind screaming of the horrors of school work, health, and all fears Dreaming of words painting a story While fears of failure come to worry Goals upon goals of awards and approval The dismay of the words they said would come cruel The hoping and praying for an adventure of my own The wish for a journey beyond that of my home Could such exploits only exist in the brain? Or is it just my want to dance in the rain? The gift of thoughts flowing like a river The pride of a medalist who has just won a silver The confidence of a glorious choir The constant need to reach higher and higher The scratching and scraping of a pen on the paper The paint soaked brush on a canvas is my nature Words billowing like a raging cascade Rushing words from which I am made
“Hope you have a great day!” and “Your day will get better!” are just two of the positive messages that Western Wayne Sixth Grader Grace Owens has written for others around her she thought needed some positive inspiration.
Grace explained that she writes inspirational messages on post it notes for her friends and teachers at Western Wayne Middle School when she knows they are struggling or facing challenges.
“When my one friend was getting braces, I wrote her a note that said she was beautiful no matter what and that it wouldn’t change,” Grace explained.
Grace said she pays attention to how the people around her are feeling and writes them a note when she thinks they need it the most. She also likes to write cards for her family members.
Grace is a member of student council, basketball, and cheerleading at Western Wayne along with being a teacher for children ages three through five at her church. She is also an honor roll student.
She looks forward to continuing to inspire others around her to feel the positivity she enjoys passing on.
ALL NEWS
Student Council Homecoming Food DriveNovember 13, 2024Western Wayne High School Student Council recently delivered donations to the food pantry volunteers in Waymart as run by the Calvary United Methodist Church.
During Homecoming week, the Western Wayne High School Student Council collected nonperishable food items from the school and community to help stock local food pantries, including items donated as admission into the Varsity football game.
The donations were made to the food pantries at Calvary United Methodist Church in Waymart and St. Thomas More Food Pantry in Lake Ariel.
If interested in these resources or to make donations, please contact the United Methodist Church in Waymart via Donna LaBar at 570-470-3763 and the Thomas More Food Pantry via Jen Cruciani at office@stthomas-stmary.com
From left: Becky Leljedal, Mrs. Jenkins, and Donna LaBar. [...]
Creative Writing Students Compete in “Fright Club” ContestNovember 11, 2024During October’s spooky season, WWHS students in the Creative Writing elective competed to give senior class readers the biggest “fright” by composing a 100-word or less mini saga. Students could opt to submit their sagas to a national level competition via the Young Writers 2024 “Fright Club” contest.
Runners up were senior Anthony Donnini’s “Monster,” junior Makayla Fullone’s “Performance is a Promise to be Kept ,” and senior Vallita Belinova’s “Rite Aid.”
Senior Lillian Maros took the first place “boo-basket” prize for her chilling poetic saga, “Black Sheep.”
Winners (left to right):Anthony Donnini , Lillian Maros, Makayla Fullone, and Vallita Belinova (not pictured). [...]
Students Recognized Nationally for PSAT ScoresNovember 7, 2024Five Western Wayne High School students have been recognized nationally for their PSAT scores this year. They include: Mia Arcadipane, Lillian Bronson, David Elias, Antonio Fisichella, and Hailey Wasman.
The students feel honored for this recognition and look forward to attending college to study a variety of subjects to further their future careers.
First, Mia Arcadipane, junior, is involved in the following school activities: cross county, track, wrestling, FBLA, NHS, Cats Club, and Student Ambassador Program. Mia is excited to study veterinary medicine after graduation.
“I have always loved science and biology and am excited to learn about these subjects,” she said.
Another nationally recognized student is Lillian Bronson, senior.
She participates in the following activities: Envirothon, soccer, NHS, and Cats Club, where she serves as treasurer.
Lillian plans to pursue a career path involving conservation and wants to study related areas in college.
“I grew up constantly being outside and hunting,” she explained. “I like our environment and want to protect it.”
Next, David Elias, senior, participates in basketball, track, FBLA, and PBIS committee.
He wishes to study mathematics further after graduation through a major in mechanical engineering.
“My favorite subjects are calculus and physics, and they go hand in hand in the field I wish to pursue,” David said.
Another high-achieving PSAT student is Antonio Fisichella, junior. Anotonio is involved in a variety of sports and activities including: Envirothon, Science Olympiad, political science club, outdoor and indoor track, cross country, and student council. In addition, he has been highly involved in the school’s band for the past four years playing percussion in the marching and concert band and participating in both the pit and pep bands.
Antonio greatly values his faith and looks forward to pursuing the study of neurology in college.
“God is good,” he said when reflecting on his recognition for his test score and his future plans.
Finally, Hailey Wasman, junior, is an accomplished member of her local 4H club. She has been showing animals since she was four years old. Some animals she has shown include: goats, lamb, dairy, beef, etc. In addition, she is a member of the Wayne County Livestock Judging Team and is a member of NHS at school.
Her path in 4-H and her strong achievements in academics have led her to pursue a career as a large animal veterinarian with a speciality in reproduction. She wants to study this particular field in college.
“This field of study will help me and others to build strength in our animals,” she explained. “I will learn how to do this by studying different aspects of genealogy in my future coursework.”
The Western Wayne School District wishes these nationally recognized students the best in their future studies at Western Wayne and their respective colleges upon graduation.
From left: Antonio Fisichella, Hailey Wasman, Lillian Bronson, Mr. Paul Gregorski, high school principal; David Elias, and Mia Arcadipane. [...]
Drama Club to Host Holiday Murder Mystery Dinner on Dec. 6November 6, 2024The Western Wayne Drama Club is now accepting reservations for our HOLIDAY MURDER MYSTERY DINNER on Friday, December 6, from 6 to 8 pm in the High School Cafeteria.
This event is for adults and students grades 8 and up ONLY. Adult ticket cost $25 dollars; students and senior citizens for $20 dollars. Cost includes: appetizers, soda and water, buffet dinner catered by RPlace, and live show. More information in ticket link.
Reservations accepted now through Nov. 22. PUBLIC IS ENCOURAGED TO DRESS IN 1920s ATTIRE. There will be audience prizes for best costume! We hope you join us for this unique night out hosted by our Drama Club students this holiday season! Questions, email jmclau@wwsd.io
See order link for more details below. Paper order form attached, if preferred.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_2TJjhZqD8u9LolAyFEkoBj1UDIBQhLF7twGyKXJGl4/edit#response=ACYDBNjB1v5pHKuPdYtYBAIQTz4g3JBZuuA8K5HOUNAMe6dEqiym1ckR1-4EAAj8ScB2w2A
Happy early holiday season from the Western Wayne Drama Club! [...]
Safe2Say Something is a youth violence prevention
program run by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
The program teaches youth and adults how to recognize
warning signs and signals, especially within social media,
from individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others
and to “say something” BEFORE it is too late.